Empty Soul
by Jinu-chan
Summary: To Yugi, he's a friend and a confidant. To everyone else, he's just and illusion.
1. Only the insane and the rich do it

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh and I'm not getting any money... (this goes for all six chapters)

Warnings: AU, Angst.

Chapter One: Only the insane and the rich do it...

Sugoroku sighed as the phone in his hand rang. He contemplated hanging it up as he heard laughter flow from his grandson's room and decided against it. Better safe than sorry, he had always thought.

A female voice answered the phone and he replied in a quiet tone. "I'd like to make an appointment with Dr. Tenoh. As soon as possible, please."

"We can get you in tomorrow. We have an eight-thirty free."

"We can do that."

"For whom is the appointment for?" the lady inquired.

"Yugi Motou." The call waiting beeped as the two verified some more information. "I need to go, we'll be there at 8:30... sharp." He hit the power button on the phone and the line switched.

"Hey, Gramps that you?" a worried Jounochi asked.

"What is it? Do you want to talk to Yugi?"

"No, not to Yugi, about him. He said something strange at school today, and I'm kinda worried."

Sugoroku's discussion with Jou continued, but in his room, Yugi was also talking to someone. Apparently alone, he was holding up what appeared to be a conversation.

"What do you mean?" he asked. There was a slight pause. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot! I don't have to talk out-loud, do I?" He shut his eyes and sat in his room smiling. Suddenly he burst out, "I think Jou will like you, too! He was so surprised to hear about you!"

Earlier in the day, Yugi had finally decided to tell Jounochi his biggest secret.

~~~"I have to tell you something," he had said.

"What is it, Yugi?"

"Well, I don't know how to say this... but, there's someone inside of me."

"What the hell?"

"Ever since I put together the Millennium puzzle, I've been having those strange black-outs, remember? Anyway, it turns out that there's an ancient spirit in the puzzle named 'Yami' who protects me. Isn't it cool?!"

"Um... yeah, Yugi. I gotta get home," the blond stuttered, "dad needs me right away."

"Maybe you can meet him next time, then!"~~~

Yugi leaned against the wall. "Man, Yami, I can't believe all his good stuff's happened, it seems like nothing bad can happen now!"

There was a knock at his door. He opened it and smiled at his grandpa. "What's up?"

"You are going to the doctor tomorrow."

"What? I don't feel sick. Oh, do I have a check-up?"

"No, not that..."

"Then what's going on?"

"I'm taking you to a psychiatrist."

"What? Why?"

The older man struggled to find words. Sugoroku looked away. "You need help, Yugi."

Yugi scowled at his grandfather, "With what?" he asked in a slightly harsher tone than he had intended.

"Um..." 

Yugi interrupted him, but didn't seem to be talking to him when he said, "huh?" He closed his eyes tightly. "Oh? Alright, if you say so."

"We're you... talking to Yami?"

"He says I should do it to make you happy. So fine, I'll go. If it pleases you."

"Thank you," he replied. Yugi shook his head and flopped on his bed and shut his eyes. "I know, Yami, we'll never be apart!" He looked up to see that his grandfather hadn't left.

"What is it, grandpa?"

"I'm just so worried about you."

"Don't be – if anything bad happens, Yami will protect me."

Sugoroku walked out of the room. "That is what I am most afraid of."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jinu


	2. Doctors know best

Chapter Two: Doctors know best?

"Yugi, are you ready yet? It's time for us to go," an old voice called from downstairs.

"We'll be right there!" He looked in the mirror and ran a hand through his bangs making them stand up for a moment. They flopped back down quickly and he ran down the stairs.

The ride to the psychiatrist's office was painfully silent. Neither Sugoroku, nor Yugi knew what to say to the other and so they both remained completely quiet. The waiting room was no different. Yugi sat on a chair and his grandpa talked to a middle aged man. Then he went and sat with his grandson for a few minutes.

"Motou, Yugi Motou?" A woman asked.

"That's me."

"Please, this way," she motioned to a door on the far side of the room and walked over to it, the smaller boy in tow. "The doctor will be with you shortly," she said walking into a room. It was large and had a sofa and a big desk. There were papers all over the place and Yugi didn't know what to make of it all. Before he had a chance to ask anything about the room, he found himself alone, with the door shut.

The purple haired boy sat down on the couch for a minute, but began to feel restless. He couldn't sit still – he didn't want to sit still. He walked over to the oversized desk and looked at the file on top. "Yugi Motou" was written in black letters and inside was one paper. Yugi read it, but the door opened before he had a chance to read anything but the first line.

"You must be Yugi," the man his grandfather had spoken with earlier said.

"I am," he replied, placing the file back on the desk. "What does 'Possible MPS' stand for?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about, just short hand," he reassured. "Anyway, my name is Dr. Tenoh."

"Why did grandpa send me here?"

Dr. Tenoh looked at Yugi's file. He had obviously not read past the first line, so there was no need to worry. "He wanted us to talk."

"About what?" Yugi was beginning to tense up. He didn't like the way the conversation was going.

"Anything, really. What interests you, Yugi?"

The boy shot him a sideways glance. "What are you getting at? I don't think I all together trust you, Dr. Tenoh. I mean, I have no reason not to, but you seem rather suspicious."

"Sit down and explain to me what you mean."

He listened, not knowing what else he could do, but he felt worried. He didn't know what to do now and he couldn't think of a way out. He wanted some help, so he shut his eyes for a moment. As soon as he did, the doctor began writing down some notes quickly.

Yugi exhaled, "Um, Dr. Tenoh, it's just that... I don't know why I am here. All I know is that grandpa is worried about me and he won't say why. Besides that you are here asking me about my interests like that will help you find a problem with me. If I knew what you were looking for, I'd be more that happy to help! All I know is that I might have MPS, whatever that is..." he paused for a moment, thinking. "Is there something seriously wrong with me?"

The doctor smiled at him, it was an eerie and dark smile. "Well, I can't quite tell yet, but for now, please humor me. C an you tell me about your friends?"

"I don't know why you'd bring that up, but if it'll help..."

"It will."

"Well, let's see. I met Jou and Honda a while ago. The used to be mean to me, but all that's different now. And I met Anzu at about that time, too. Oh yeah, there was this kid, Ryou, we hung out for a while. But he went into the hospital just out of the blue. They say he's got a split personality or something! He never seemed like a weird guy to me!"

At the mention if Ryou, there was a definite change in the doctor's tone, but he tried to hide it. "Have you done anything recently with your friends?"

"Hmm? Recently? I went out with Honda and Jou to see Anzu at work..." he paused in thought. "Well, I told Jou about Yami! I guess I forgot to mention him! Yami is a pharaoh from ancient times! He was in my Millennium Puzzle and he comes out to protect me. He's probably my closest friend. But he's like more that a friend to me..."

The doctor's eyes widened as he violently scribbled down more notes. "A pharaoh, you say?"

"Yes, the pharaoh who saved the world, or something like that. When we went to the Ancient Egypt Exhibit at the museum we learned all about him."

"And he is in your Millennium Puzzle?"

"Well, he was sealed inside, somehow. We aren't sure about that."

The doctor leaned in. "Why is he called Yami?"

"I don't know."

"How do you know he's really trying to help you?"

"I just know it!"

"How?"

"Because I do!"

"How?!" the doctor shouted.

Tears flooded into Yugi's eyes and they narrowed. He pushed back his bangs and they stood on end. When he got up, he seemed to be taller. The doctor had noticed that Yugi was walking with a slight slouch before that was gone. The slouch had shown doubt and uncertainty, while his improved posture displayed a man with greater self-confidence.

"Leave him alone," he said in a deeper voice.

"Yami, I presume?"

"The one and only. Why did you do that to my hikari?"

"I wanted to see if this would happen," he said, smirking. "You see, Yugi, you have MPS, or Multiple Personality Syndrome, as we call it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jinu


	3. Take this little pill and all of life's ...

Chapter Three: Take this little pill and all life's problems float away

"You see, Yugi, you have MPS, or Multiple Personality Syndrome, as we call it."

The small amethyst eyes widened. "First of all, I am Yami, second of all, neither one of us have Multiple Personality Syndrome."

The doctor ignored the outburst. "Usually, a psychologist wold try to merge the two personalities together, but Sugoroku says that you, Yugi, are completely separate from this 'Yami' person. You apparently never had the traits that he displayed, and so he sent you here, to me, a psychiatrist. I can prescribe drugs that can help you." He almost spit the last sentience.

Yami sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, making a show of his conversation with Yugi. He sighed and slouched. Suddenly, he flattened his hair. Yami was Yugi again.

"I am offended by what you did. But even more so I can't believe that you'd expect me to take some messed up pill! Not on your life!"

"Yugi, it's what your grandfather wants."

"I'm sorry but I'm not going to take medication for a disease that I don't have."

"Can you wait in here for a moment?"

"Fine."

Dr. Tenoh left the room and walked down the hall to an area that was almost empty. The only person inhabiting the room was Sugoroku.

"He does have MPS, but he won't take the medication." The doctor looked at the old man helplessly, as though he was very sad.

"I will give it to him." The old man said. "He needs it."

"Are you sure?" he asked with a hopeful tint in his voice.

"Yes, after he lives life without Yami for a while, I think life will go back to normal."

"The way you say all this," the doctor said, "You make it sound like it's your fault he developed this problem."

"It is. Did Yugi tell you about Ryou? Ryou Bakura, who was also given a Millennium item? He developed a multiple personality, too. Another 'spirit,' the only difference was, Ryou's was murderous. Now that poor boy will spend the rest of his days in an asylum. They can't get rid of it. Apparently the drug that we are going to use on Yugi didn't affect Ryou's body. He was in the hospital on strong pain killers after 'Bakura' tried to kill Ryou, that was when they tried the drug."

Once again, the name changed his mood. "Oh, no, I've never hear of anyone named Bakura... ever." He paused, almost trying to gain composure, "you say he tried to kill himself?"

"No, 'Bakura' is the name the split personality calls himself. He threw himself in front of a car as means to kill Ryou."

Unexpectedly the doctor didn't seem surprised in the least. He almost grinned at the thought.

"You see, the Millennium items are cursed! It is my fault Yugi is like this!"

"Actually, in a case like this, multiple personalities are not all that rare. Yugi is weak and was picked on. It is the body's natural defense to create an alternate personality to protect itself. The only odd thing here is that he can communicate with his split."

"That's never happened before?"

"Oh, it has, I just haven't seen it. Now you ought to go home. Tomorrow is Saturday. If you give Yugi the medicine in the morning tomorrow and the day after, 'Yami' will be gone by Monday. Come back then for a follow-up and he should be back to school by Tuesday."

"What kind of medication will he be on?"

"Well, we already spoke about this. It's a new drug that goes directly to the part of the brain that creates this sort of defense mechanism and blocks out the split personality. He has to take the two initial doses and then once a week for two months should be enough. Wait, he hasn't taken any other drugs recently, has he?"

"He took some Advil yesterday."

"Make sure he doesn't take anything. We aren't sure how the drug will react to different OTC drugs, yet."

"No problem. I'm going to go get Yugi."

"Alright, and here you go." He handed Sugoroku an orange prescription bottle with ten capsules in it. He laughed at the irony of it all and wondered how many more 'mentally disturbed people' he would... help.

Yugi and his grandpa left the building and went home, talking about the trip.

"So I told him 'no way' when he asked," Yugi explained.

"Well, I wish that you would take the pill, but if you don't want to, I can't force you, can I?" The older man chuckled and Yugi laughed with him.

"Well, if it'll make you feel better I might... later. I don't want any freaky side effects. It's not like Yami's going anywhere!"

The next morning, Yugi came downstairs and had a bowl of cereal and sat in front of the television, watching some cartoons.

"Thanks," he said, grabbing a glass of orange juice that he was handed. He drank it all in one gulp. "Yuck! Grandpa, I think it's past the expiration again!"

"Oh, no," Sugoroku said, slightly dazed, "The date's just fine."

Yugi shrugged and continued watching his cartoon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jinu


	4. Side effects

Chapter Four: Side effects

Saturday went by with no problem. Yugi had called Anzu on the phone and didn't mention Yami to her. However, just when Sugoroku was feeling a bit hopeful, Yugi had a conversation with his alter ego.

On Sunday, Yugi woke up to the sound of his grandfather's voice for the first time in months.

"Get up sleepy head, it's eleven-thirty!" The old man smiled as he woke his grandson up.

Yugi cocked his head slightly, wondering why his darker half didn't wake him up. Knowing that his grandfather wouldn't be happy, he hurriedly kicked him out, saying that he needed to get changed.

"Yami," he whispered in a sharp tone. "Where are you? What are you up to today?" He shut his eyes tightly and waited for a reply. Ten minutes went by without any movement.

"Hurry up Yugi, did you fall asleep again?"

The loud calling of his grandfather snapped him out of the trance-like state he was in. "I'll be down in a min, can you get me my cereal and a-" Yugi was caught off guard and stopped mid sentence. He thought he had heard something. "Uh, a glass of juice?"

He looked around his room quickly and locked the door. "Yami, where WERE you?" A pause. "What do you mean groggy? You mean sleepy... It's eleven forty... Yes, yes, ELEVEN forty... Oh yeah I don't have to, right." He sat silently in his room, on his knees in a corner.

A minute or two later, Sugoroku was getting impatient. "Yugi, get down here, or I'll eat it for you."

Yugi ran to the door and out of the blue said, "We'll talk later."

"Good morning, grandpa," the short boy said cheerfully, "Wow, I can't believe how long I slept for!"

"You must have been tired, or maybe you went to bed late."

"Hmm... that's funny. I remember eating dinner, but I can't remember going to sleep at all last night. I must have been very tired!"

Sugoroku placed a bowl of Cheerios and a glass of apple juice in front of the hungry child. "Now, you'd ought to be hungry! Eat up."

"Thanks." To Yugi's surprise he was, in fact, very, very hungry. He devoured his first bowl of cereal in less time that it took him to pour the second. He wasn't all that thirsty, though so he didn't drink too much.

Yugi was finishing his third bowl of cereal when his grandfather noticed that there was something building up at the bottom of the boy's glass. He tried to get it away from him, but it was too late. Yugi had seen it.

He held up the glass and examined the bottom. "What is this?" he asked in an unexpectedly angry voice. 

"I don't know."

"Looks like someone put something in my glass," Yugi said suspiciously.

"That could be anything," his grandpa replied all but stuttering.

"What are you pulling, old man?"

"I'm not pulling anything, Yugi. That looks like sugar to me."

"Did you put sugar in my glass?" Yugi asked, calming down a little.

Sugoroku was about to reply when Yugi slammed the glass on the table. "Sugar? Sugar?! You expect me to believe that you'd put sugar in my apple juice? Why the HELL'D you do that?"

"Yami?" the old man whispered.

"No, that wasn't YAMI, you senile old man, it was me!"

An idea struck that senile old man just then. "Remember how you thought the orange juice was bad yesterday?"

"Yeah," Yugi replied impatiently.

"Well, I told you it wasn't, but the apple juice was. I put some sugar in it so that it'd taste normal."

Yugi's eyes widened. "Oh, okay," he said in his normal, cheerful voice. "Could you get me a spoon, grandpa?"

Sugoroku stood there staring for a minute. He didn't know what to do. He shrugged and said, "Okay."

"Thank you, grandpa!" Yugi shot him a smile.

Sugoroku walked to the drawer and dug in it for a spoon, surprised that Yugi A) bought it and B) just dropped it like it was nothing. He walked back thinking to himself, well, I knew that they're'd be risks involved. He shook his head, but as he walked passed his room, he saw an orange bottle sitting on the table next to his bed.

"What's wrong grandpa?" he asked, watching his grandfather stir his drink.

"Oh nothing. Just thinking about what a nice, relaxing day today's going to be. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the sugar earlier."

"Sugar? What are you talking about? Why were you stirring my drink?"

"Oh, uh. No reason. Drink up!"

"Thanks grandpa!"

On Sugoroku's nightstand stood the prescription bottle with a label that read "Yugi Motou – take one a day with food for two days. Then take once weekly with food." There was another larger label on the back. "Side effects: increased appetite, short-term memory loss, and increased irritability, which can result in unexplained rage. Use with caution."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jinu


	5. Withdrawal of a different kind

Chapter Five: Withdrawal of a different kind

The rest of Sunday went on as a very stressful day for Sugoroku. Yugi would randomly become suspicious on the old man, but then forget why after his grandfather explained his way out of it. Then hours later, Yugi would remember what happened and feel terrible about it. Sugoroku noticed he was talking to Yami less and less, and Yugi truly wasn't talking to him all that much. Mostly because he wasn't answering as much as he used to.

Sugoroku put a sedative in Yugi's soda at dinner, because the doctor had told him to bring him in asleep. Something about being sure the split personality was gone as well as putting Yugi under less stress.

At about five in the morning, Yugi woke up briefly, to what he thought were sobs. He tried to get up, but he felt as though something was keeping him from opening his eyes, so he surrendered himself to sleep. It was about that time that Sugoroku piled him into a car and brought him to the psychiatrist's office. Upon arrival Dr. Tenoh had him strapped to a bed and told Sugoroku to leave the room. He said that Yugi didn't need any more stress than what he was going to face in the morning.

At about seven, the doctor's assistants rang a bell and woke Yugi up. He couldn't open his eyes immediately, but soon did to see that he was strapped to the bed. He blinked with wide eyes, trying to talk but not being able to find the words.

Suddenly screaming he yelled for help. "Who did this to me?" he asked quietly. "Where am I? Why did you strap me to this bed? Why me? Why am I here? Where are my friends? Where's my grandpa?" he paused, "Where's Yami? Yami. Yami? Answer me!"

He pulled on the restraints unable to free himself. "Yami, come out and help me," he whispered, "You know you're stronger than me! Oh, I know, you don't want me to talk out loud, that's why you aren't answering me." He shut his eyes as tightly as he could. His whole little face was wrinkled with the force on which he was exerting. A tear escaped his eye. "Why won't you answer me?" he asked in a voice, barely audible. "Why?"

The doctor looked at Sugoroku's tearstained face. "It's time for us to tell him. No need for him to suffer anymore."

Sugoroku stared blankly, "This won't work." He whispered.

Dr. Tenoh looked at him. "You say something?"

"Oh, no, nothing," Yugi's grandpa replied and followed the doctor.

Yugi had slumped in the restraints, ceasing to fight at all. He was miserable and tired from the twenty-minute struggle. The door creaked open, but he didn't move for a few seconds. After hearing some footsteps, he gazed upwards to see his grandfather and that quack of a psychiatrist staring down at him.

"Where am I?" he asked timidly.

"In my office," the doctor replied.

"Why?"

"Because," Sugoroku began, "We have cured you of your disease."

"What are you talking ab... Wait. No. You didn't, did you?" Yugi gasped. "You couldn't, could you? You WOULDN'T! Grandpa, tell me you didn't really spike my drink!"

The old man looked down.

"Tell me, grandpa, tell us! I know you could never do that to me. You've NEVER lied to me, right grandpa. Right! Right? Tell us!"

Sugoroku spoke slowly, "I put something in you drink that would cure you of your sickness. You are well now, Yugi. You're normal again."

Yugi looked to the doctor. "You put him up to it, didn't you? Grandpa'd never do anything like that without being coerced into it! And anyway," he looked down, "What's so wrong about being different." Even with all of his emotions swimming inside of him, Yugi was smart enough to know that the first thing he needed to do was get out of the restraints. He attempted to dry his eyes with his hands but could move them. It was a motion the doctor knew and he undid the ties on the bed.

In that instant Yugi leapt from the bed and grabbed the doctor. "Tell me how to get him back!" he shouted. "Tell me how to undo the medication!"

"Yugi!" his grandpa scolded, "Let go of him this instant."

The doctor grinned evilly, "He's never coming back! You know that, never! And you wanna know something, I hate all you FREAKS!" he threw Yugi to the floor and stormed out of the room laughing hysterically.

Yugi turned to Sugoroku, but outside of the room, two police officers walked up to Dr. Tenoh.

"Are you Doctor Aku Tenoh?"

"Yeah, who's asking."

"Dr. Tenoh, you are under arrest for malpractice, you have the right to remain silent."

"What the hell?" the doctor asked.

"You've apparently been using drugs the FDA hasn't approved, including one that is highly dangerous when mixed whit any other OTC drug and can cause serious, permanent brain damage."

"Oh, my crazy-be-gone pill?" the doctor asked. "You know how much help it causes? Whackos are normal again, thanks to me!"

"Try and tell that to the Bakura family. That drug you gave their kid screwed him up so bad, he'll be strapped to a gurney for the rest of his natural life!" a cop yelled.

The other one looked at him. "That's enough, let's just get him out of here." The two dragged him out of the office.

Meanwhile in the secluded room, Yugi was pacing back and forth talking to his grandfather in an icy cold voice. "So, you did this on your own, you say. He didn't convince you?"

"No, I made up my mind."

"That makes it even worse, grandpa! How could you? You're a... you're a murderer!"

"Yugi, Yami wasn't real."

"He was to me, you MURDERER! You just took him from me so I could be 'normal' right? So I wouldn't be some weird-o! Right? Because YOU didn't wanna be known as the guy who raised the SCREWED UP KID, RIGHT?! You are one sick fuck! One sick, sad excuse for a man who would tear a child apart just to be considered a good parent! I hope you pay for this mistake, I do. But you know the best thing about it, don't you?" He walked over to his grandfather and put both of his arms across the old man's neck. He continued his speech in slow thoughtful words as Sugoroku gasped for air. "Besides the fact that it's hard to kill a pharaoh, anyone who attempts to..." he watched his grandfather squirm under his arms, "gets cursed."

He released his grip on his grandfather and sat on the bed that had once restrained him. His listened to the old man cough in the corner and he started to feel guilty. Not about what he had done to his grandfather, no that didn't matter at all. It was because he'd never speak to Yami again and his last words were a guarantee, "We'll talk later." He felt as though he was braking a promise to his dark and it ripped him up inside.

"Look, Yugi, I'm sorry, but you'll see it was for your own good."

Yugi scowled at him, but didn't say anything.

"Well, then, let's go."

Yugi followed him out of the building and looked down the road to see a police car driving away. He shrugged as he got into the car. 

"Sugoroku," he said. "Some day, some how, you will pay for what you have done to Yami. You are not my grandfather anymore, and I will pick and choose what I will do from now on, be it a request from you or anyone else. I hope you know what a fool you are."

He refused to speak to his grandfather again. For the whole ride home, he sat stroking his Millennium Puzzle, thinking. By the end of the ride home, he had come up with an idea. Upon arriving at home, he went upstairs and slammed a door shut. Minutes later, he slammed a separate one.

A few hours later, Sugoroku went upstairs and into the bathroom. On the floor he saw an empty bottle of Acetaminophen. He thought it was odd but shrugged it off, he had had a headache just yesterday and took the generic form of Tylenol, himself. He must have just dropped the bottle. Looking in the trash he saw a discarded bottle of Advil as well. He thought hard, but then saw the safety wrapper in the can, too. He knew then that there was a problem, because that was a new bottle.

He thought for a moment until realization dawned on him. "Yugi," he whispered and ran to the boy's room. He slammed open the door to find Yugi lying face first on the carpeted floor, pen and paper in hand, with what was the start of a letter.

Sugoroku ran to his side immediately and tried to wake the boy up, but he wouldn't budge. He called an ambulance and looked at the sheet of paper in Yugi's hand. "You killed him, now I can be with him. I hope yo-" was written, a line trailed off the paper, apparently from when he collapsed.

The man who was sending the ambulance said to induce vomiting, but the old man couldn't get him to.

A medic burst into the room. "His pulse is weak. I don't know if he'll be able to hold on."

Yugi was lifted into the ambulance; fate uncertain as Sugoroku could do nothing but watch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jinu


	6. Fate of the madmen

Chapter Six: Fate of the madmen

Yugi sat in a bed at the hospital, a weak pulse keeping him alive, but in what appeared to be a deep sleep. Sugoroku feared he was in a coma, but the doctors felt he would wake up any minute. Yugi's grandfather also felt like the doctors were keeping something from him.

While pacing in front of his grandson's room, Sugoroku was tapped on the shoulder.

"Are you Mr. Motou?"

"I am, you are?"

"I'm Detective Chee. As you may or may not be aware, you psychiatrist is being sued for malpractice."

Sugoroku gasped. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. We were told that he gave you a medication for your grandson to get ride of a split personality. Is this correct?"

"Yes."

"This drug is dangerous, and can harm your grandson. We were wondering if you would like to join the lawsuit. You can get back to me at this number." He handed Sugoroku a card and walked away, telling the old man how sorry he was for him.

"I can't believe it," he whispered to himself. "It seems so impossible. He was supposed to go to school as a normal kid today, and tell Jounochi the good news. How... how can this be?" he sat down on a chair.

A nurse went over to him. "Mr. Motou. Yugi's awake."

"Thank God!" he replied.

"Um, Mr. Motou, there's something w-"

He interrupted her, "- I don't care what's up with him, I want to see my grandson!" He burst into the room. "Yugi, hi!"

"I can't believe it. You really are here!" Yugi exclaimed.

"That's right, I came here just for you, how are you feeling?"

"I missed you so much!"

"You've... missed me?"

"They told me I'd never see you again! They told me you were dead, but you weren't!"

"Oh, God," Sugoroku said, feeling sick. "It can't be."

"Oh, Yami, you're okay!"

Yugi's grandpa visibly paled and turned to the doctor. "His split personality is back?"

"Well, actually, he's not responding to us. It's like he doesn't see of hear us anymore."

"What do you mean."

"He won't respond to voice or vision. He slinks away from touch. He completely engrossed in a fantasy world. He has no ties to reality. I'm so sorry Mr. Motou."

"So then... I'll have to put him in an institution?" he asked.

"That would be ideal."

The next day, Yugi was transported from the hospital to an asylum, where he was placed only a few doors down from Ryou Bakura, who could be heard screaming in terror and, more oddly, pleasure at different hours of the day. Yugi was surrounded by those how had lost their mind completely. All of them living in fantasy worlds that would never be penetrated.

Months later Dr. Aku Tenoh's case went trial and his medical license was revoked, but he was let off on a technicality, because he wasn't read his rights properly or completely. He was said to have moved up north where people haven't heard the news about his trial or his malpractice.

And on the day that the doctor was freed, Yugi Motou sat alone in a room, padded from ceiling to floor. His grandfather peered in through a window on the door. He was about to go in, when he saw Yugi begin to rock slowly in the corner he was sitting at.

"I've caused you enough pain in your life," he said. "I have paid for it, Yugi. You said I would and I did. You lost Yami at first, and I've lost you. I AM such a fool..." he sighed heavily and walked away from the cell, motioning to the attendant that he wasn't going in. She put away her keys and returned to her desk.

Yugi continued to sit quietly, but he seemed to be thinking. Well, at least he appeared to be in deep thought.

He stood up suddenly. "I told you," he said, "I told you we'd never be apart."

The End.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jinu


End file.
